


Steve's Victory Garden

by cablesscutie



Series: Imagine Steve Rogers Prompts [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-10 14:24:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4395275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cablesscutie/pseuds/cablesscutie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: imagine steve picking up gardening to cope with trauma/stress. imagine he grows his own garden and it's common to find him in it planting bee-friendly flowers or trimming his shrubs etc</p>
            </blockquote>





	Steve's Victory Garden

After his pies at the Avengers’ potluck Thanksgiving had gone over so well, Steve had been getting into the kitchen more and more.  He’d always been a terrible cook back in the day.  His Ma and Bucky were always much better at pulling together a good stew from their cabinets’ meager offerings, but it’s pretty surprising how well one can fare with a good recipe and access to quality ingredients.

Being able to feed his friends hot, home cooked meals after their grueling missions was oddly satisfying, and with his metabolism, he had to eat so much, but in light of his new hobby, it didn’t seem as bothersome as it used to.

It started small - just a few tiny pots of herbs catching the sunlight on the kitchen windowsill.  Sam’s sister, master chef of the Wilson family, had insisted that fresh herbs would change his life, so he’d swung by the garden center and brought home some basil, oregano, and thyme.  The smell was refreshing, and he had to admit - his marinara sauce was pretty kickass.

Which inspired him to put some tomato plants on his balcony.  And then, came spinach, which he quickly remembered tasted awful.  He really hadn’t been kidding about boiling everything.  Although, in a salad, it was pretty good, so he planted cucumbers, and by the time he started pondering lettuce, there was no room left outside.

Not to be deterred, Steve stormed the roof of Avengers tower armed with all the lumber and potting soil a super soldier can carry and set to work.  For a city kid, he actually knew a thing or two about gardening.  The mothers in his old apartment building had a similar set up during the war, and if he really thought back, he could recall about how deep the soil had to be and how far apart to space the plants.  He was just watering the last transplanted tomato vines when he heard the door to the rooftop slide shut.

“What have you been doing up here all day?” Stark asked.

“I haven’t been -”

“Jarvis says you’ve been puttering around on the roof since ten.  What gives?  What’s with the plants?  Is this your retirement hobby?  Because that’d be nice.  Pepper’s granddad used to make some lovely birdhouses.”

“I’m making planters, not birdhouses.  And these are vegetables.  You may not recognize them because they’ve yet to be liquified, but rest assured, this is what you’re drinking.”

“Well, duh.”  Tony rolled his eyes.  “But that still leaves the question of why they’re here.  I know vintage is in, but victory gardens aren’t really a thing anymore.”

“It’s not a victory garden, it’s just a regular garden, and your spaghetti nights reap the benefits of this, so leave it alone.”

“All I’m saying is that with you and Barton together, this is starting to feel more like 4H than the Avengers.”

“It’s not like I brought a cow up here or anything.”

“Well, good, ‘cause we’d have a hell of a time getting it down.”

“Huh?”  Steve raised an eyebrow, but Tony just waved the statement away like he was clearing one of his holograms.

“Nevermind.  Just...seriously, what’re you doing?”

“I like cooking.  Fresh produce tastes better.”

“But-”  Tony took a breath and averted his eyes up to the sky briefly, before exhaling and getting to the point.  “Why do you have time for this?  Shouldn’t you be out hunting for Red October?”  Steve’s face shuttered, amused irritation fading into his stony Captain America persona.

“The trail’s gone cold.  We’re waiting for new leads.”

“Right...Well, good luck with that.”  Steve’s expression remained inscrutable, but he nodded and said,

“Thanks.”  Tony shifted uncomfortably for another moment before turning around to leave.  As he was closing the door, he turned back to Steve and said,

“You know, JARVIS gets bored sometimes, when there’s nobody, ya’ know, trying to kill me, and so sometimes he likes a little pet project to occupy himself, and...uh...if he stumbles on anything, I’ll let you know.”

Steve relaxed, looking grateful, but more exhausted than Tony thinks he’d ever seen the guy, and that includes when he nearly passed out on a table full of Shawarma.

“Thank you, Tony.”

The next morning, Steve went upstairs to water the garden, only to find a new stake driven into the dirt, bearing a sign that read: GRANDCAPPY’S VICTORY GARDEN.  Taped to the back was a thin, manila folder.


End file.
